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Syria opposition: U.N. peacekeepers safe

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One million Syrians now refugees

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One million Syrians now refugees04:19

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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "welcomes" the release of the peacekeepers, the organization said in a statement. The peacekeepers have an impartial role, the statement said, and the secretary-general called for both sides in the conflict to respect the freedom of movement and security of his personnel.

Fighting in the area resumed in the villages near the Jordanian border following the handover, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria reported.

The group reported 63 deaths across Syria on Saturday.

International tension had grown this week after about 30 Syrian rebels detained the peacekeepers and refused to let them go.

The United Nations and Filipino government demanded their release.

The consul general of Philippine embassy in Jordan confirmed the release, and said the peacekeepers were being transported to Amman.

The rebels initially said that the peacekeepers were trying to aid their enemy -- the regime of President Bashar al-Assad -- when they entered a Syrian village near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, an area where peacekeepers should not be and where intense fighting has been raging for days between rebels and government forces.

Al-Khatib then said the peacekeepers were taken to protect their safety and that of a U.N. convoy in an area under bombardment for seven days.